Secret World pre-orders begin May, guarantees beta access

Funcom's modern-day fantasy MMO The Secret World will be out in just a few months, and co-publisher EA is dropping pre-order details on us this morning.

Starting May 11, Secret World will go up for pre-order, and reserving the MMO guarantees potential players access to every beta weekend starting then. As far as we're concerned, that totally validates pre-ordering on its own, but of course there's more.

In addition to beta weekend access, you would also gain early access to the game four days earlier than the folks who didn't reserve a copy. A number of in-game bonus items are also being offered, ranging from random to useful. Here's a rundown of the goods:

Guaranteed access to all Beta Weekends starting May 11, with the ability to carry over their characters to every subsequent event

Guaranteed Early Access to the game, up to four days prior to the game’s official launch

An exclusive in-game item providing an experience boost to progression

An exclusive in-game t-shirt featuring a unique monster design

A powerful pet (Ferocious Wolf, Egyptian Cat or Loyal Hound) to support the player in combat

A head start on character naming before the game launches

And hey, if you don't like what you experience during beta, Funcom leaves plenty of time for you to cancel that pre-order. Some of us have pretty high hopes for this game... despite Age of Conan.